For the first 35 games of the Trail Blazers’ season, CJ McCollum could strap on his rookie-mandated Minnie Mouse backpack and slip out of the team’s locker room after games with ease. Not Wednesday.

That’s because McCollum made his NBA debut and had to stand in front of his locker answering reporters’ question after Portland’s 110-94 win over Orlando at the Moda Center. His locker-room neighbor, Damian Lillard, dressed without the murmur that usually surrounds him in postgame. At least for this night, the action in this area of the locker room was McCollum’s.

“It’s a little different, a little weird,” McCollum said. “Usually I just get out of here real quick and nobody notices me.”

McCollum’s debut had been anticipated for weeks after he was cleared to fully practice in late December. He had, after all, been the 10th pick in June’s draft, but had fractured his left foot during an Oct. 5 practice. He diligently rehabbed the foot and got himself ready to play again.

McCollum did not play Tuesday, and in pregame Wednesday, Stotts brushed off a question about the rookie’s status, saying, “I’m not going to answer CJ questions about when he’s going to play and how I’m going to use him. CJ will play when he plays.”

That turned out to be later that night. Stotts told McCollum before the game that he would play, and the coach called on McCollum late in the first quarter. With 3:15 left, public address announcer Mark Mason announced McCollum for the first time, and the 18,949 fans greeted him with a loud ovation, many rising to give it.

Nearby, Lillard said something that suggested McCollum should have maintained more of a poker face. “I shouldn’t have smiled, but I did,” McCollum said, adding, “It was great for the fans to cheer me on like that. I really appreciate it.”

McCollum’s first NBA basket was an 18-foot jumper 34 seconds into the second quarter, set up by a pass from Nicolas Batum. By making the shot, McCollum played a part in Batum reaching a career-high 14 assists, part of the forward’s fourth career triple-double.

Another highlight for McCollum was his first NBA steal, which came with 8:27 left in the second quarter. The Magic’s leading scorer, 6-foot-5 guard Arron Afflalo, tried to use his size advantage against the 6-3 McCollum, who could see that Lillard was about to check back in for him.

“He tried to back me down,” McCollum said. “I think I heard somebody say, ‘Mouse in the house.’ I knew I gotta get this stop, because I seen the sub coming. He backed me down. I’ve got pretty quick hands. As he went to rise, I just reached in and took it from him.”

McCollum didn’t set the world on fire in his 14 minutes, 22 seconds as he finished with four points, two rebounds, a turnover and the one steal and shot 2 for 5 from the field. But Stotts was pleased with what he saw.

“I thought he tried to play the game the right way,” Stotts said. “It was a good opening night. It was a physical, fast-paced game. I don’t think he tried to do too much. He executed things well. He made some mistakes, but I thought for a first outing, it was good to get him on the court.”

McCollum fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot twice in 2013, first in January during a game for Lehigh, ending his college career, than during the first week of Blazers practice, delaying the start of his pro career. But he says he never thought of the foot during the game.

“I just go out and play, honestly,” he said. “I don’t think about it until the game’s over. I think, oh, that’s another game I got through, no stepping on any feet or anything like that. But once you recover from injury, you don’t think about it. You just go play and react.”

How much he will play remains uncertain. McCollum said he has not been told what, if any, role he will have in the Blazers' rotation.

"You know as much as I do," he said. "I'm just out here living the
dream, just trying to put myself in position to succeed every day."